Background
All campuses that receive federal financial assistance currently operate under two laws that protect students from sexual assault and other forms of campus violence.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. Additionally, Title IX aims to provide individuals with effective protection by making schools responsible for responding promptly and effectively to any cases of sex discrimination (1).
The Clery Act requires institutions to report crimes that occur on campus and to provide timely warning when there are known risks to public safety (2).
Issues Surrounding Campuses Today: Sexual Harassment and Assault
Mistreatment of sexual harassment and assault cases on campuses has unfortunately become a norm rather than an anomaly. Increasingly, many campuses and universities across the U.S. have been criticized for poorly handling cases of sexual harassment and assault and violating Title IX requirements.
For example, a college in California has recently been criticized for creating a hostile climate for sexual assault victims and inadequately disciplining students found guilty of sexual misconduct. At the same time, students at another California university also filed complaints about the gross mishandling of sexual assault and rape cases. Many other students across the U.S. have also formally complained about being discouraged from reporting assaults, having little protection from their assailants, and having to undergo shoddy investigations held by schools.
Sexual Assault Statistics:
· Previous research suggests that college women are at higher risk for rape and other forms of sexual violence than women in the general population or in a comparable age group (DeKeseredy & Schwartz, 1998).
· Over a five-year stay, a college woman’s risk of experiencing a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault is between one in 5 and one in 4 (Department of Justice, 2000).
Sexual Harassment Statistics
· 62% of female college students report having been sexually harassed at their university, with 80% of the reported harassment being peer-to-peer (American Association of University Women, 2006).
· 51% of male college students admit to sexually harassing someone in college, with 22% admitting to harassing someone often or occasionally (American Association of University Women, 2006).
**7 out of 10 students on college campuses, asked for their opinions on how their administration handles sexual assault cases, say that they do not have confidence in the process or those who administer it (Sokolow, 2004).
Issues currently surrounding UCLA’s sexual harassment policies
UCLA currently has a comprehensive sexual harassment policy and procedure available on its website. Additionally, UCLA conducts campus climate surveys and diversity reports and frequently undergoes investigative reports and audits. Through these reports, UCLA is able to gauge the way both students and faculty feel about their experience at UCLA and foster awareness about some of the issues UCLA currently faces.
UCLA’s Sexual Harassment Office and Title IX Officer Duties:
UCLA’s Sexual Harassment Office and Title IX Officer have three broad duties:
1. Handle academic appointee misconduct
2. Coordinate training programs
3. Advise administrators on policies and resources
Some would argue that UCLA still has to improve on the following:
1. More transparency with both the sexual harassment policy and disciplinary actions taken against those found guilty
· Currently UCLA’s sexual harassment website links to outdated versions of their policies and procedures
· Links on the sexual harassment website should provide the latest sexual harassment policy revisions
· Currently laws protect the accused person and do not allow victims to know what disciplinary actions are taken unless the
accused agrees to let them know
· Victims should have the right to know what disciplinary actions are taken against the accused person
By keeping these facts hidden, colleges may fosters a concern that the University may not take the issues of sexual harassment as seriously as it proposes.
2. Increased training for both students and faculty
· Currently training for students is done at orientation
· Training should occur more often and also involve a more clear definition of what “consent” means
A lack of clear training serves to foster distrust among a university’s students and employees.
3. Data should be more centralized and easier to access for students
· Currently, UCLA has multiple offices that deal with sexual harassment such as the Ombuds Office, human resources offices around campus, the Dean’s office, and the sexual harassment office.
· Data should be centralized to have a more accurate record keeping of cases
· Currently, the Clery Act requires that UCLA report sexual assault cases
· This data should not only include sexual assault cases but also any other sexual discrimination or harassment cases
UCLA should work on having more accurate reports of sexual harassment and assault.
4. In cases where faculty are accused by their students of sexual harassment or assault, both the policy and procedure should be quicker and more effective
· Currently, UCLA has all faculty accusations go through the privilege and tenure board who decide whether or not the case should go to trial. This is often a very slow process and students can sometimes graduate before the case is decided on.
All cases of sexual assault and harassment should be dealt with efficiently and quickly.
What is currently being done?
Thanks to the tireless efforts of student activist groups, faculty members, and administrators, there has been a recent emphasis on making sure that campuses are compliant with Title IX. The government is now investigating 60 colleges over handling of sexual assault cases and has recently released a White House Task Force report with recommendations to combat sexual assault. These recommendations include developing a comprehensive sexual misconduct policy, conducting climate surveys, having proper training for school officials, and showing more transparency and information sharing about sexual harassment cases on campuses. In addition, there are campaigns currently at UCLA such as the 7000 in Solidarity that aim to educate students about sexual assault (3).
All campuses that receive federal financial assistance currently operate under two laws that protect students from sexual assault and other forms of campus violence.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. Additionally, Title IX aims to provide individuals with effective protection by making schools responsible for responding promptly and effectively to any cases of sex discrimination (1).
The Clery Act requires institutions to report crimes that occur on campus and to provide timely warning when there are known risks to public safety (2).
Issues Surrounding Campuses Today: Sexual Harassment and Assault
Mistreatment of sexual harassment and assault cases on campuses has unfortunately become a norm rather than an anomaly. Increasingly, many campuses and universities across the U.S. have been criticized for poorly handling cases of sexual harassment and assault and violating Title IX requirements.
For example, a college in California has recently been criticized for creating a hostile climate for sexual assault victims and inadequately disciplining students found guilty of sexual misconduct. At the same time, students at another California university also filed complaints about the gross mishandling of sexual assault and rape cases. Many other students across the U.S. have also formally complained about being discouraged from reporting assaults, having little protection from their assailants, and having to undergo shoddy investigations held by schools.
Sexual Assault Statistics:
· Previous research suggests that college women are at higher risk for rape and other forms of sexual violence than women in the general population or in a comparable age group (DeKeseredy & Schwartz, 1998).
· Over a five-year stay, a college woman’s risk of experiencing a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault is between one in 5 and one in 4 (Department of Justice, 2000).
Sexual Harassment Statistics
· 62% of female college students report having been sexually harassed at their university, with 80% of the reported harassment being peer-to-peer (American Association of University Women, 2006).
· 51% of male college students admit to sexually harassing someone in college, with 22% admitting to harassing someone often or occasionally (American Association of University Women, 2006).
**7 out of 10 students on college campuses, asked for their opinions on how their administration handles sexual assault cases, say that they do not have confidence in the process or those who administer it (Sokolow, 2004).
Issues currently surrounding UCLA’s sexual harassment policies
UCLA currently has a comprehensive sexual harassment policy and procedure available on its website. Additionally, UCLA conducts campus climate surveys and diversity reports and frequently undergoes investigative reports and audits. Through these reports, UCLA is able to gauge the way both students and faculty feel about their experience at UCLA and foster awareness about some of the issues UCLA currently faces.
UCLA’s Sexual Harassment Office and Title IX Officer Duties:
UCLA’s Sexual Harassment Office and Title IX Officer have three broad duties:
1. Handle academic appointee misconduct
2. Coordinate training programs
3. Advise administrators on policies and resources
Some would argue that UCLA still has to improve on the following:
1. More transparency with both the sexual harassment policy and disciplinary actions taken against those found guilty
· Currently UCLA’s sexual harassment website links to outdated versions of their policies and procedures
· Links on the sexual harassment website should provide the latest sexual harassment policy revisions
· Currently laws protect the accused person and do not allow victims to know what disciplinary actions are taken unless the
accused agrees to let them know
· Victims should have the right to know what disciplinary actions are taken against the accused person
By keeping these facts hidden, colleges may fosters a concern that the University may not take the issues of sexual harassment as seriously as it proposes.
2. Increased training for both students and faculty
· Currently training for students is done at orientation
· Training should occur more often and also involve a more clear definition of what “consent” means
A lack of clear training serves to foster distrust among a university’s students and employees.
3. Data should be more centralized and easier to access for students
· Currently, UCLA has multiple offices that deal with sexual harassment such as the Ombuds Office, human resources offices around campus, the Dean’s office, and the sexual harassment office.
· Data should be centralized to have a more accurate record keeping of cases
· Currently, the Clery Act requires that UCLA report sexual assault cases
· This data should not only include sexual assault cases but also any other sexual discrimination or harassment cases
UCLA should work on having more accurate reports of sexual harassment and assault.
4. In cases where faculty are accused by their students of sexual harassment or assault, both the policy and procedure should be quicker and more effective
· Currently, UCLA has all faculty accusations go through the privilege and tenure board who decide whether or not the case should go to trial. This is often a very slow process and students can sometimes graduate before the case is decided on.
All cases of sexual assault and harassment should be dealt with efficiently and quickly.
What is currently being done?
Thanks to the tireless efforts of student activist groups, faculty members, and administrators, there has been a recent emphasis on making sure that campuses are compliant with Title IX. The government is now investigating 60 colleges over handling of sexual assault cases and has recently released a White House Task Force report with recommendations to combat sexual assault. These recommendations include developing a comprehensive sexual misconduct policy, conducting climate surveys, having proper training for school officials, and showing more transparency and information sharing about sexual harassment cases on campuses. In addition, there are campaigns currently at UCLA such as the 7000 in Solidarity that aim to educate students about sexual assault (3).